Washington, D.C. — The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and the American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) announced today that the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions (DFI or the Department) has received a certificate of accreditation for mortgage supervision. This accreditation certifies that the DFI maintains the standards and practices in state mortgage supervision set by the CSBS/AARMR Mortgage Accreditation Program. Robert Entringer serves as the Commissioner of the Department. North Dakota is the 21st state to receive CSBS/AARMR Mortgage Accreditation.

“Congratulations to Commissioner Entringer and his staff for meeting the standards required to achieve mortgage accreditation,” said CSBS President and CEO John W. Ryan. “This accreditation demonstrates the commitment of the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions to excellence in residential mortgage supervision. Commissioner Entringer’s leadership as Chairman of the State Regulatory Registry (SRR) is only further testament to his commitment to sound mortgage supervision in his state and nationwide.”

“The AARMR/CSBS Accreditation Program is designed to identify mortgage agencies that serve the citizens of their state by operating a capable and professional regulatory program,” said AARMR President Rod Carnes. “Congratulations to Commissioner Entringer and his entire staff for operating an exceptional department.”

To achieve mortgage accreditation, state agencies must undergo a voluntary comprehensive review of the CSBS and AARMR accreditation team. The accreditation process begins with the completion of an extensive self-evaluation questionnaire on all department operations, including administration and finance, personnel, training, examination, supervision, and legislative powers. Next, an external review team comprised of veteran regulators performs an on-site review and presents its findings to an audit team and to the Performance Standards Committee, the members then vote on the reports of the review team and the audit team.

About CSBSThe Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) is the nationwide organization of banking regulators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. State banking regulators supervise approximately 5,000 state‐chartered financial institutions. Further, most state banking departments also regulate a variety of non-bank financial services providers, including mortgage lenders. For more than a century, CSBS has given state supervisors a national forum to coordinate supervision of their regulated entities and to develop regulatory policy. CSBS also provides training to state banking and financial regulators and represents its members before Congress and the federal financial regulatory agencies.

About AARMRThe American Association of Residential Mortgage Regulators (AARMR) is the national organization representing state residential mortgage regulators. AARMR's mission is to promote the exchange of information and education concerning the licensing, supervision and regulation of the residential mortgage industry, to ensure the ability of state mortgage regulators to provide effective mortgage supervision for a safe and sound industry meeting the needs of the local financial markets and to protect the rights of consumers.